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COAST AND GROTTOES IN GARGANO |
The view of the coast with vivid and contrasting colours is really fascinating due to the endless succession of enchanting natural sceneries, inlets and beaches guarded by white rocky cliffs abruptly falling into the sea and pine trees reflected on the deep dark blue waters that seem to make the blue sky look gentler. The most suggestive sights are the great number of beautiful grottoes, eroded by the sea and winds throughout thousands of years.
Everyday comfortable motorboats, safe for passengers of all ages, are the only means of transport visitors to this dreamlike but real world.
After having admired cliffs, reefs, natural arches called architielli, bays, old and traditional fish traps called trabucchi, and Federican castles perching above the sea, it is time to make a stop in order to dive into incredibly clear waters and swim along with small curious fishes in an enchanting setting where you can also sunbathe on a coloured pebble bay.
Prices: Adults: 25.00 - Reduced price: 15.00 (up to 11 years old)
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Right amid the Adriatic sea rise the Tremiti Islands, a lushness of natural marvels with rocks and cliffs, grottoes and coves, stacks and crags that extend over San Domino, San Nicola, Caprara, Cretaccio and Pianosa. The oldest name given to the Tremiti Islands was Insulae Diomedeae after the Greek hero Diomedes who, as legend has it, landed on these islands and stayed here until he died. Besides the natural beauties you can also admire the ancient Lateran, Cistercian and Benedictine Abbey, which has been in the islands since the year one thousand.
The Islands can be easily reached everyday by motorboats leaving from the quay in Rodi. There are special tours to the archipelago and visits to the enchanting sea grottoes.
Prices: Adults: 25.00 - Reduced price: 15.00 (up to 11 years old)
Additional tours: Trip to San Domino
Prices: Adults: 9.00 - Reduced price: 5 (up to 11 years old)
Archipelago tour
Prices: Adults: 13.00 - Reduced price: 7.00 (up to 11 years old)
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GARGANO: RELIGIOUS AND NATURALISTIC |
A pilgrimage that has been a very popular tradition since the Middle Ages.
One of the most visited places by tourists coming from all around the world is the tomb of Padre Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo and St. Michael Shrine at St. Angel Mount. The story of St. Angel Mount is closely linked with the events that this grotto-church underwent.
The church is said to have been consecrated to the Archangel in 493 by bishop Siponto. According to historians, the temple was founded during the second half of the 6th century on an old Brazilian abbey. It was on this occasion that St. Michael church was granted the rank of national Shrine of the Longobards in the Italian Mezzogiorno (Southern region). |
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The Gargano is not only a land of saints but also a land with some of the most extraordinary natural beauties and wonderful landscapes in Italy. So do not miss the exciting experience of being in contact with unspoiled Nature: have fallow and roe deer feed from your hand and visit the museum of natural history with hundreds of species of stuffed animals and a section devoted to prehistoric tools. The tour stops for lunch at the Abbey in Pulsano.
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CASTELLANA AND ALBEROBELLO
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The grottoes of Castellana, forming the bed for an old underground river; are the largest karstic grottoes in Italy and offer a splendid underground scenery.
The grottoes are over 3 km long and 71 m deep. But it is the great number of stalactites and stalagmites what makes these caves a fairy-tale setting, full of strange and fanciful shapes like the Cyclopes and the Owl, the Snake and the Altar, the Crib and the Wolf, the Desert and the Madonnina (statue of the Virgin).. Our tour guide will take you to the most beautiful and enchanting places. The entrance fee to the grottoes is included in the price.
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On the Southern Murgia highlands, amid hills full of vineyards and olive grooves, Alberobello and its typical white-washed conical-roof shaped houses called trulli , looks like a crib to the eyes of visitors. These trulli houses, UNESCO world heritage, famous all over the world, are round dwellings built up of limestone slabs piled up without mortar, with pointed or rounded roofs that are traditionally decorated with mysterious symbols.
According to history, it was Count Giovanni Acquaviva of Aragon who first built trulli. When the Pragmatic edict of Baronibus imposed royal permission and monopoly for all kinds of buildings, the count ordered his subjects to use only stones and prohibited the use of mortar. In that way, trulli could be easily pulled down, and then up again, in case of governmental inspections. |
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HISTORICAL QUARTERS - PESCHICI AND VIESTE
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The small villages that make up the Gargano are ancient picturesque hamlets.
On the Gargano coast, in the small village of Peschici, you can admire one of the best examples of the synthesis between architecture and Nature.
The historical quarter seems to emerge from the rocks falling dramatically to the sea on which it was constructed. Its domed houses, so white that seem to be made of chalk, live side by side with dwellings built on rocks. Near the village, visit Santa Maria di Calena Church, founded by Benedictine monks in the 11th century. Do not miss a statuette of the Virgin and child inside the church. Vieste is certainly one of the most ancient villages in Daunia.
It is located in the centre of a marvellous coastal area extending over 30 km, offering a fantastic array of some of the most charming views of the Mediterranean. The historical quarter, crossed by its narrow alleys and staircases among white houses, is really fascinating. Humble houses live side by side with distinguished monuments: the Basilica, one of the most ancient examples of the 11th century Puglian architecture, the Castle, the Church of San Francesco and the Chair, seat for the old city hall.
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The Gargano National Park constitutes an invaluable environmental, historic and natural heritage. As part of the Gargano Inside Tour, we will go deep into the most enchanting and unspoiled natural settings where to enjoy a day full of adventure.
In the Umbrian Forest we will find majestic species of beeches, holm and oak trees; admire the way in which time has slowly sculptured and eroded the rock creating cracks up to 30 metres high. We will walk along the course of ancient streams and listen to the sounds and songs of Gargano native fauna. We will stop in the green forest to enjoy lunch in contact with Nature; we will taste products harvested from our land and served by the people who work the land.
Necropolis, small country parishes and farmhouses will be some of the places we will visit in our tour. We will also visit the enchanting and traditional historical quarter of Vico del Gargano where time and history seem to have stood still for several centuries.
Prices: Adults: 36.00 - Reduced price: 26.00 (up to 8 years old)
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